Flexible metal freezing tray



Jan 15, 1935., H. D. GEYER FLEXIBLE METAL FREEZING TRAY Filed Feb. 16, 1955 fi i V r r R O N E V m Harvey 71 Eeyar #Wmm 147 ATTORN EY-S Patented Jan. 15,1935 1,988,111

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLEXIBLE METAL FREEZING TRAY Harvey D. Geyer, Dayton, Ohio, assignor, by

mesne assignments, to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application February 16, 1933, Serial No. 656,990

8 Claims. (Cl. 62-1085) This invention relates to freezing containers, ridges or folds in order to facilitate the reespecially such as are adapted for home use in moval of the frozen ice blocks from the pockets. the freezing compartments of electric refrig- For this purpose each pocket 10 is provided erators. with a continuous ridge or corrugation 15 exit The general object of the invention is to protending entirely across the bottom and the two vide a flexible metallic freezing tray of simple opposed end walls thereof so that each pocket and eflicient construction having a series of inmay be expanded in size by the flexure of the dividual ice pockets, and which may be easily metal at the continuous ridge 15 thereacross, flexed by hand to remove the frozen ice blocks that is, the pockets may be stretched to a without first melting the frozen bond between slightly increased size by any force which tends 10 the ice blocks and the tray. r to flatten out the ridges therein. Such 9.

Other features of the invention comprise the force may be applied to the tray by flexing the various details of structure and the method of tray as a unit upward at its center and downmaking such a flexible metallic tray as will proward at its two ends, which flexing may be 15 vide economy in the manufacture thereof and easily done with the hands. Obviously such a 15 efficiency and long life in use. bending of the tray as a unit will tend to pull Further objects and advantages of the present the long sides 16 of each pocket further apart, invention will be apparent from the following and the ridge 15 in each pocket will yield under description, reference being had to the accomthis tendency to permit the side walls 16 of 20 panying drawing, wherein a preferred embodieach pocket to separate a small distance. Ob- 20 ment of one form of the present invention is viously such.a separation will free the sidewalls clearly shown. 16 from their frozen bond to the ice block.

In th drawing: Simultaneously the slight flattening of the Fig. 1 is a plan view of a two-row ten-block ridges 15 will so change the shape of the bottom freezing tray made according to this invention. wall and two end walls of each pocket 10 that 25 Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 22 the ice block will be freed from these walls also. of Fig,'1 The ice blocks may then be dumped out by Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the tray of Fig. 1. inverting the tray or they may be picked out Similar reference characters refer to similar individually. from the pockets 10.

parts throughout the several views. In order that the two-row tray shown in the 30 The tray shown in the drawing for the purdrawing may be easily flexed as it as pose of illustrating the invention is pressed and described in-the preceding paragraph, the sepadrawn from a single piece of sheet metal, preirate ridges 15 in the one row are aligned with erably copper, and has two rows of ice pockets the separate ridges 15 in the other row. A

85 10 formed therein. The two rows of pockets hole 20 is provided in the metal fold 12 between have an intervening air space 11 therebetween each pair of aligned ridges 15 to avoid the stiff- (see Fig. 3) and the two rows are joined toening effect of the fold 12 against the longitugether by the fold 12 in the sheet metal. Likedinal bending of the tray as a unit. This will be wise the individual pockets 10 in each row have clear from viewing Fig. 1. Obviously if the 0 an intervening air space 13 therebetween (see holes 20 were omitted and the metal fold 12 40 Fig. 2) and the pockets are joined together by thereby made continuous the full length of the the folds 14 at the upper edges of the pockets tray, this fold 12 would greatly stiffen the tray 10. All of these pockets 10 are shown as having against the above described longitudinal bendan elongated shape and both the side and end ing. However, with the fold 12 cut away at the es walls thereof are inclined so that the cross secholes 20, as shown in Fig. 1, it can have no tion at the top of each pocket is considerably stiffening effect against the expansion in size of larger than that at the bottom. The structure the pockets 10 by the longitudinal bending of so far described provides something very similar the tray as a unit as described above. to an ordinary sheet metal cookie pan for Obviously, if desired, only a single-row tray to baking cookies. may be made according to this invention and 60 Now the fundamental idea 01! this invention i operation to remove the frozen ice blocks there to add to the above-described structure ridges from would be substantially the same as above or folds in the metal walls of each pocket 10, described. whereby each individual pocket 10 may be ex- While the form of embodiment of the present pended in size by flexure of the metal at such invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a pre- 55 ferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

i. A freezing tray comprising a sheet metal container having a row of individual ice pockets formed by folds in the sheet metal, said pockets each having a continuous ridge formed in the walls thereof and extending in a plane transverse the length of said row of pockets whereby each pocket may be expanded in size by fiexure of its walls along said continuous ridge to facilitate removal of the frozen contents.

2. A flexible freezing tray integrally formed from fiat sheet metal and having a row of ice pockets therein, said ice pockets being defined by inwardly projecting transverse folds in the sheet metal, said transverse folds being continuous through the upper edges of the side walls of the tray so as to-ni'aterially facilitate the bending of said tray about an axis parallel to said folds when filled with ice, whereby to permit the loosening of the frozen bond between the tray and its ice contents.

3. A flexible freezing tray integrally formed from flat sheet metal and having a row of ice pockets therein, said ice pockets being defined by inwardly projecting transverse folds in the sheet metal, said transverse folds extending through the upper edge of the outer side walls of the tray in such manner as to render said outer side walls extensible and to facilitate the bending of said tray transverse the length of said row of ice pockets.

4. A flexible freezing tray comprising a sheet metal container having a row. of ice pockets, said tray having a series of inwardly extending open folds formed in the walls thereof and extending in a plane substantially transverse the length of said row of pockets, said open folds extending entirely through the upper edges of the tray walls and thereby providing a series of continuous lines of relatively easy flexure transversely of the tray.

5. A flexible metal freezing container integrally formed from flat sheet metal and adapted to be filled with water to be frozen, said container having a series of inwardly extending open folds spaced apart and each lying in substantially a single plane transverse the bottom and side walls of said container, said open folds extending entirely through the upper edges of said side walls and providing a series of lines of relatively easy flexure extending transversely across the container.

6. A flexible sheet metal open-top freezing container adapted to be filled with water to be frozen,. said container having an inwardly extending open fold lying in substantially a single plane transverse the bottom and side walls of the container, said open fold extending entirely through the upper edges of said side walls and providing a. line of relatively easy fiexure.

7. A flexible sheet metal freezing tray having a water-retaining pocket, said pocket having a continuous open ridge lying in substantially a single plane across the bottom and side walls of said pocket, said open ridge extending entirely through the upper edges of the side walls of said pocket and providing a line of relatively easy fiexure.

8. A flexible metal open-top freezing tray having two opposed longitudinally stretchable outer side walls and a stretchable corrugated metal plan area interconnecting said stretchable side walls and defining a series of ice block compartments.

HARVEY D. GEYER. 

